


Melting

by moxx04



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, bordering on angst? maybe, i planned for this to be fluff but my life said no, past pairings because flashbacks are important, they're all the same age because
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-01 18:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16770529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moxx04/pseuds/moxx04
Summary: It's a world where you get "soul tattoos" when you're loved and you love, the words can be a burden.But sometimes, they're a blessing despite the pain.





	1. Meetings

"Soulmates" aren't all that they're made up to be, in her opinion. Mainstream media tends to make out how love can only be real when two people are meant to be. She thinks that's a load of bull.

She was set to enter college this year and while she doesn't quite believe in soulmates the way most people do, it's still a bit disconcerting how she hasn't had a word appear on her wrist yet.

After all, soul tattoos are commonly acquired during high school. The thing about soul tattoos is that they aren't about being fated by the gods or some other higher power. It's about the choices you make.

Simply put, when you love someone, words appear on their skin. When your love is the type to last a lifetime and possibly more, it appears on your right wrist, not theirs.

The subject has been studied since man could make sense of the connections with the words and the emotions that they feel and that are felt towards them.

There's still no scientific explanation and she doesn't think there ever will be. It's actually convenient because this way, people can't lie about their feelings.

The words appearing on your skin are triggered by words or phrases the people who love you say to you. It's proof of their love. It can't be faked.

The tattoos on wrists are more special. Coveted, almost. Because instead of your love appearing on someone else, your love is reflected on you. If it's reciprocated, a response will appear on your left wrist.

If it's not...a crossed copy of your phrase or word will appear.

As written in history, people can have multiple "soulmates." It's just that sometimes, people don't meet at the right time and what could have been doesn't happen.

There are also cases where people already have a "soulmate" but meet someone else. That actually happened in her parents' case. It was certainly an enlightening experience.

Love fades. People have to continue to love each other because it's not something that can be maintained using sheer will. It takes a lot of things to keep the words on your wrist bright and vivid.

She doesn't ever want to see hers fade the way her parents' did.

Truth be told, she's a bit scared that she's incapable of loving now. She has friends who's skin she's marked but she's never really felt the stirring of a different kind of love in her.

After her parents divorced, her dad was devastated. It hit him hard how he failed her mom, how they failed each other.

They moved from Taiwan to Korea. He was a world-renowned surgeon that also happened to own a bunch of hospitals in Taiwan. Naturally, it was no trouble to move to another country.

It was a rough adjustment period for Tzuyu. She was user to having both parents around, even if it was rarely at the same time.

She doesn't regret staying with her father, though. She knows he needs her more than her mom does. Her mom knows it too.

Going to school in a country whose language you haven't mastered yet was a terrifying experience in the beginning.

She was a transfer student so everybody was interested in her but she couldn't articulate her thoughts quite properly yet so she decided not to speak.

Eventually, everyone left her alone and declared her to be that cold girl who doesn't speak. It was actually kind of freeing but it was lonely up until a tiny artist crept into her life.

Even in middle school, it was very apparent how Son Chaeyoung, a short, long-haired girl with cute dimples, was an art prodigy. Tzuyu, by this time, was already fluent in the language but never bothered to talk to people.

That changed when one day, Chaeyoung decided to sit with her during lunch. She didn't bother speaking but looked at Chaeyoung questioningly anyway.

"You looked lonely and I gave nowhere else to be, so," the girl said nonchalantly. The corners of her mouth lifted at the bluntness of the girl and she was subjected to a dimpled smile in return.

They spent lunches like that after this happened. Eventually, lunches were extended to library sessions in the afternoon.

And then Dahyun entered their lives, or they entered Dahyun's, when they entered a music room by accident when they were searching for a quiet place to study.

They were stunned by Dahyun's talent and watched her focused playing until she finished her piece. The milky-skinned girl shit them the brightest grin when she heard their claps and applause.

It became them against the world during high school and she was glad for it.

They got their words for each other one afternoon when in freshman year, they decided to forgo getting driven to school in order to walk into school for that "authentic high school experience." (Dahyun's words, not hers.)

It rained. Heavily. They were soaked to the bones and looked absolutely ridiculous because of it, their uniforms weighed down by the amount of water that hit them.

After running towards the school, the three of them looked at each other. "You're both idiots, you know that?" she told the two artists.

Both of them suddenly looked wide-eyed and she was curious about what could've caused that reaction. Up until her friends rolled up their sleeves and she saw that in their arms where the words "you're both idiots" in their arms.

They grinned at each other and said, "But we're you're idiots," with the widest smiles she's ever seen. Of course a copy of that phrase appeared on each of her forearm. It felt like a warm hand caressing her on a cold day. It felt like being settled.

On their senior, the idiots finally realized what she's been seeing for years. Namely, that they were obviously and ridiculously in love with each other.

It was a wonder how it took that long considering Chaeyoung once left a class abruptly after receiving a text from Dahyun that she was stuck in the music room.

Dahyun once posed for hours, literally hours, with perfect posture and slightly trembling hands for a painting Chaeyoung wanted to paint.

Sure, she would've done those things too but Dahyun and Chaeyoung were, for a lack of better words, perfect for each other. On their wrists appeared two succinct words. "Tofu"and "tiger."

Now they were all going to JYP University, rooming together in an all-girls dormitory on the far side of the campus. College was bound to be an adventure.

* * *

It turns out that college isn’t much different from high school. Life was still a cycle of going to classes, sometimes hanging around and goofing off with Chaeyoung and Dahyun, and then rinse and repeat. The upside is that in college, she’s finally getting to do what she’s always wanted to do.

Photography has been a good way to express herself the way music is to Dahyun and painting is to Chaeyoung. There’s a calming feeling in capturing moments in life. She’s well aware that very few things actually last forever but keeping a piece of memory seems like a good way to remedy that. It’s not perfect but it’s better than nothing.

SK University is a beautiful place. There are a lot of places that serve as good background for pictures. It’s also not uncommon to see other students with cameras or even sketchbooks just wandering around the campus, looking for a good spot to settle down. It’s nice to have gone to an arts-specialized university.

Their housing was also really upscale considering they live in the campus dormitory but that’s probably to be expected, what with the expensive tuition the school requires. Living with her two bestfriends is both a blessing and a curse. Chaeyoung stays up way too late watching random documentaries or dramas, and Dahyun takes forever to finish showering. She can only imagine how challenging it would be if they had to share their bathroom with the rest of the people living on their floor. She’d be perpetually late to classes.

Their neighbors are…interesting, to say the least. Contrary to popular belief, she’s not an emotionless robot. She finds amusement in hearing random laughter drifting from the hallways followed by half-hearted curses. If she’s extremely honest with herself, one kind of laughter stands out from the rest. She doesn’t know why but…it’s brighter than everyone else’s.

It took 2 months before something interesting happened. Chaeyoung was invited to a party by a classmate. Of course that meant that Dahyun and Tzuyu were going to be dragged into it through the power of Chae’s puppy dog eyes. She could have said no but…it was interesting.

So there she was, wearing a plain black hoodie, ripped jeans, and converse, blending into the background (or at least trying to). There were a few brave souls that dared approach her to try and initiate a conversation but they all eventually left after being subjected to a bit of silence. She would be lying if she says she doesn’t find that a bit funny.

She could drink some alcohol since she was in a party but she’s not really the type to break rules. Instead, she rummages through the fridge of whoever owns this house. A few other students are in the kitchen, engaging in what appears to be small talk and pretentious discussions but that’s fine. Indie music and philosophical discussions. This was definitely Chaeyoung’s cup of tea. Dahyun was probably somewhere around, dancing like an old man to the music.

She finds a bottle of coke in the fridge and decides it’s becoming too stuffy in the house. She heads out to the pool in the backyard and watches some rowdy-looking guys playing beer pong on the other side. She feels more than sees someone settle beside her. She looks at the stranger and notes the absence of wristbands on her her. She doesn’t actually look at the girl’s wrists but she does see some ink in there.

To her surprise, the girl just looks amused at her when she finally looks her in the eyes. The girl clad in an oversized white sweater grins a bunny-toothed smile at her.

“It’s nice out here, isn’t it?” the girl says.

She only continues staring, trying to see if the girl would take the hint and leave her alone. She doesn’t.

“You’re not much into words, are you?” the girl laughs a bit.

Her interest is definitely sparked at hearing that laugh. It was the same as the one she’s been hearing around the dorm. It’s nice to finally have a face to identify the laughter with. She pushes up her glasses that have begun to slide down a bit on her nose. She gets a good look at the girl and notes that she looks absolutely beautiful under the moonlight.

“I wish I had my camera,” she mutters.

“I was just about to say that you should take a picture since it would last longer,” the girl says, trying to hold in her laughter.

She feels her cheeks heating up because she did not mean to say that out loud. The snickers coming from the girl make her smile, though.

From inside the house, she hears someone shout something like, “Im Nayeon, get your ass in here and help me distract Momo from the dance floor!”

“You should smile more. You look more beautiful that way,” the girl says while standing up.

“Wait!” she calls out. “What’s your name?”

The girl only smiles mysteriously at her and fails terribly at winking. She’s confused as to why she finds that to be charming instead of annoying.

“Maybe I’ll tell you next time. See you around, stranger.”

She watches the beautiful stranger walk back into the house. She could be stubborn and follow the girl inside but she feels strangely content with their interaction. There’s always next time, after all.

It was definitely a beautiful night out.


	2. Almost like it's fated?

She doesn’t tell Chaeyoung and Dahyun about the encounter. She knows she would just be subjected to their endless teasing if she did. Besides, college has started to become a bit hectic for their shortest member. Something about plates taking over her life.

Sometimes when she lets her mind drift away during those monotonous moments in class, she flashes back to that moment with the pretty stranger. She’s not too bad-looking herself, in fact she’s got a lot of people confessing to her daily, but no one has really caught her attention the way that pretty girl did.

Besides, she thinks it’s pretty shallow how people can confess their love to her out of nowhere when they’ve never even shared a conversation. That’s not really the type of love that’s worth her time. It’s not the type to last forever and she’s nothing if not a deeply apathetic romantic at heart.

So no, she wouldn’t say she’s fallen for the stranger but she sees potential, and that’s more than she’s ever felt for anyone in a non-platonic way.

She’s walking towards her room after a long, boring day, when she hears someone yell “hey” pretty loudly in the hallway. She turns to see none other than the pretty stranger. The gods must have overheard her thoughts and decided to grant her one small desire for another meeting.

“Do you live there?” the girl asks her while approaching.

“No, I’m breaking into this room in broad daylight,” she deadpans.

“Wow,” the girl exclaims loudly, “what a pretty burglar. Might I ask what you plan on stealing?”

“Some food, but now that you’ve foiled my burglary, wanna get some dinner with me instead?” she boldly asks.

“Bold of you to ask considering you don’t even know my name,” the girl smirks at her.

She just shrugs and looks at the girl. This time, she has her long black hair tied up in a ponytail. She must have just come from the gym or something because she’s wearing just plain gray sweatpants and a black jacket.

She must have noticed the attention Tzuyu has been paying to her outfit because the smirk only deepens.

“Like what you see?” she asks amusedly.

“Yes, I do,” she replies.

“I like you already. My name’s Im Nayeon,” the girl says.

“Chou Tzuyu. You have a beautiful name,” she replies.

“Are you always this charming to strangers?”

“Only when they’re you,” she finds herself saying without thought.

This earns her a cute laugh, and she feels like the momentary bout of stupidity is worth it if she made the girl happy. How sappy.

“My friend works at the restaurant near the dormitories, they serve pretty good cheese pizzas there,” Nayeon offers.

“Let’s go,” she says, offering her arm.

They’re heading to the restaurant when she notices. The casual touch is something to be noted but it’s not yet…alarming. It was an automatic act after years of Dahyun and Chaeyoung clinging onto her. As for a practical stranger eliciting trust in her so quickly, well her curiosity has always gotten the better of her. She figures this is no different. There’s just something about Im Nayeon that’s magnetic.

“Just so you know upfront, my heart has been taken for years,” Nayeon says offhandedly.

This gives her thoughts a bit of a pause for a little but figures there’s nothing wrong with that. They could still be friends, anyway.

“Well I’ve never had my heart taken. How does it feel?” she asks instead.

“You should probably ask someone else about that. My case might ruin it for you,” Nayeon laughs a bit at herself.

She looks at the girl questioningly but then Nayeon lifts her left wrist up and Tzuyu sees something she’s only seen with her dad before. She feels inexplicable sadness at seeing it.

~~Faith~~

“Why don’t you cover it?” her tone conveying nothing but curiosity.

“Well it’s still there, isn’t it?” Nayeon replies brightly. “Covering it wouldn’t make it any less real. Besides, the person this word is for is still one of my bestfriends. We have things figured out.”

She marvels at that. Her father has always taken the time to have his mark covered. Then again, her father’s mark is still bold whereas Nayeon’s is a bit faded but still undoubtedly there.

“You’re remarkably interesting, you know that?” she says.

“Most people prefer using the word stupid,” Nayeon says, amused.

“You should hang out with cooler people,” she mutters.

“Are you implying you’re cool, Chou Tzuyu?”

“No but I’m less inclined to stupidity than most, if I do say so myself,” she deadpans.

Nayeon is laughing that bright laugh again and she wonders how in the hell her mark isn’t returned. She may be wrong but Nayeon seems like the type of person people can’t help but fall in love with, and not just because of her looks, unlike in her case.

“We’re here!” the bunny-toothed girl exclaims.

The exterior of the restaurant is pretty much what you'd expect from an establishment in a university. Not too posh but appealing to the students with its homey vibes. The inside is much even more cozy with cushioned seats, and sturdy wooden tables.

Nayeon lets go of her arm to wave over a beautiful short-haired blonde. The girl would be fit to be a model. She really should start bringing her camera with her everywhere at this rate.

“Jeongyeon, this is Tzuyu. Tzuyu, this is Jeongyeon,” Nayeon introduces them.

“Can you be any vaguer Nay? Is that really how you introduce strangers? Just names?” Jeongyeon asks her companion then looks at her. She feels a bit like she's getting appraised but she only looks back steadily at the girl. “I'm Jeongyeon, a music major in the university and one of this bunny's bestfriends.”

“I'm Tzuyu, a photography major. Do you both happen to be freshmen too?”

“Apparently, we live in the same floor in the dormitory Tzuyu, so I think that answers your question,” Nayeon smirks at her.

“Let's get you two seated,” the short-haired girl interrupts. It was good timing too because she didn't have anything to really reply with after that. She's glad they're all at the same level, though. It makes them more likely to meet between classes.

They get seated by the window. It's just the two of them again and surprisingly, the silence is comfortable.

Shared silence is a tricky thing. With the right people, it's fine, even great sometimes. With some, it can get suffocating and just…awkward. She admits to being the cause of a fair share of awkward silences because more often than not, she enjoys messing with people who can't handle her. Of course that never worked with her bestfriends and it seems it doesn't work on Nayeon either.

Another server, this time a beautiful short-haired girl with a body that looks to die for even with their uniform for the restaurant.

“Oh, hey Momo! I didn't know you were on duty tonight too,” Nayeon says.

Tzuyu is starting to assume that attractive people stick together in this campus because she's getting the urge to take a picture again.

“Yeah, I picked up a shift for Sana because she's off doing something involving a--” the girl cuts herself off. “I'm rambling again, aren't I?” she blushes.

“It's cute, Momoring,” Nayeon grins at her.

The way Momo smiles softly to herself shoots some warning bells in her head. This is Im Nayeon's power. How scary. She's not even trying either, probably doesn't even know how she affects the people around her.

“This is Tzuyu by the way. A new friend. She lives in the same floor as us,” Nayeon adds. “And this is Momo, a dance major and food enthusiast.”

The girl, Momo, regards her guardedly but smiles nevertheless. She has a feeling this could get messy but maybe not. After all, they're all just friends.

Nayeon asks Momo for the promised cheese pizza and the girl walks off to the kitchen with one last smile at Nayeon.

They wait for their order by people-watching outside the window. Tzuyu realizes how comfortable she is with this almost-stranger. They make up the most random backstories for everyone that passes by. There was one guy carrying a duffle bag and was walking fast and they both said, “He killed someone,” with a straight face. It was great.

When the pizza arrived, the walk to the restaurant proved to be worth it. Good food and good company. She got lucky today.

“This restaurant is actually owned by Jeongyeon’s family,” Nayeon shares.

“That’s pretty cool,” she replies.

“Yeah, all my friends and I help out here when we can. People come here for a sense of home and we all try to provide that,” the girl continues.

“You really like it here, huh,” she notes.

“It’s home. Well, my friends are home.”

She can relate to that a lot. Home was no longer in Taiwan the moment they left because of her father. Korea wasn’t home either until she got back a semblance of untainted happiness in the form of two precious friends. Maybe that would sound pathetic to other people but Tzuyu thinks there are a lot of worse things In the world. She’s still one of the lucky ones.

She smiles softly at the girl who, for all intents and purposes, should look unkempt and messy with her baggy and casual clothing but still looks like a…masterpiece. She swears she’s not usually this sappy. It must be the bunny-toothed grin Nayeon keeps shooting at her.

They walk back to the dorm after Nayeon says goodbye to Jeongyeon and Momo. It’s a bit chilly now since it’s a bit late. She couldn’t fight back a shiver after a particularly strong wind.

She feels something warm slip onto her shoulders.

“You should tell me if you’re feleing cold, Tzuyu,” Nayeon remarks.

“But then you’ll be the one feeling cold,” she replies, trying to give the jacket back.

“I insist. I’m pretty warm, I’m used to feeling cold, and it’s not like I’m not wearing anything else,” the girl says. “You, on the other hand, might freeze before we get back to the dorm.”

She could force the issue but she sees no point in it. Nayeon was being nice and it was…cute. She feels her cheeks heat up and damn it if she’d let Nayeon see how much she’s affecting her right now. She puts on the jacket and tries to put up the hood to hide her face.

Nayeon just laughs warmly at her.

They continue their walk to the dorm and they arrive in no time. They head to their rooms and wave at each other. An elaborate goodbye would be weird because she has a feeling they’re going to be meeting a lot more after this.

She’s already inside when she notices that the jacket smells like Nayeon, a hint of sugary sweetness and mint. She’s definitely warm now.

Who knew an interesting thing would happen during such a boring day. She’s very glad for it, though. She definitely wants to see where this goes.


	3. Of perspectives

She used be a swimmer. A good one, too.

Her parents used to bring her to the beach every weekend. Their beach house functioning as a sort of second home. The first few times, she stuck to building sandcastles and staying near the shore. After a while, she finally asked her parents to teach her how to swim.

They drilled the importance of safety into her at a very young age. The ocean could swallow her whole if she wasn’t careful, but it could also embrace her in an all-encompassing way. It was…freedom to swim. She didn’t know it yet at 5 years old but when she did get older, it was an escape.

Being good at something didn’t necessarily mean she needed to make it into a competitive thing. But she did. She became part of the school’s swim team during middle school. Swimming in a pool wasn’t as good as swimming in the sea. There’s way too much chlorine and other things that just doesn’t feel right. But she was good and she figured that if she was good, why not be the best?

With something to focus all of her energy on, she never really had time to dwell on crushes. The closest thing to a crush she had was on a competitor from one of their rival schools, named Jennie. Needless to say, it never amounted to anything.

Sometimes her parents worried about her not being social enough but that wasn’t exactly true. She had Mina and Sana. She had their words tattooed on her, and her tattooed on them too. _Sunlight_ and _Sea_ , appearing at her shoulders.

Out of the two, she would say that Mina was closer to her in personality. She might seem outgoing and bright to everyone but there’s a bigger part of her that craves solidarity. Mina is like that too, but…softer. You wouldn’t think of it when you see the girl but it’s true. They also shared a love for the sea that bonded them from the beginning.

Sana kept them cheerful, always there when either of them were getting into her so-called “brooding sessions.” Sunlight was a very apt word. She wasn’t on the team but she went to every competition she and Jennie participated in. The school didn’t allow that kind of thing but after one too many classes skipped, they just let her tag along with the team. It never hurt her academics anyway.

They were the closest and that’s why, right now, a week before their biggest competition yet, Mina noticed that she wasn’t at her best.

“Nayeon, why are you spacing out?” a girl breaks her out of her reverie.

“It’s nothing, Minari,” she tries to smile it off.

The truth is that she’s been feeling different since the start of their junior year. It started with her getting tired easier. Then, sometimes her chest would feel so tight that she couldn’t breathe. She hid this from everybody, she figured it would get better after a while. But it didn’t. They’re at the end of the year and it only got worse.

She feels the pain in her chest again and thinks that it’s a good thing it didn’t happen while she was in the water. Then she blacks out.

She’s in a hospital.

The sight that welcomes her is a strange one. Her mom and dad are looking somber and sad. Then they notice that she’s awake.

“Sweetie, how are you feeling?” her mom asks.

“My head hurts a bit but I’m fine now,” she answers honestly.

“You blacked out at school, Nayeon. What happened?” her dad inquires more seriously.

A lie was on the tip of her tongue but what good would that have done? She wasn’t fine. She didn’t know why but she wasn’t.

“I’ve been getting chest pains lately. It’s been messing with my swimming and I think I’ve been more stressed because of it,” she explains.

“Well, we’re getting you checked out,” her mom asserts.

And so she went through lots of exams, an ECG, MRI, CT scan, and even a full blood work up. What actually helped the most with figuring out her problem was a report of their family history.

She had arrythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. The doctors tell them it’s genetic, that it could have been passed on to her father, which was passed on from his mother but never manifested. Sadly, it did for her.

They are also told that it’s lucky that it was caught so early. What’s bad is that she’s an athlete.

“Physical activity is not good. You’ve been experiencing some symptoms like blackouts and arrythmia already,” the doctor elaborates. “You could be approaching a hot phase, something very dangerous for your condition.”

“She can’t continue swimming anymore?” her dad asks, voicing out her main concern.

Her dad was the one that introduced her to swimming, after all. He was the one that patiently taught her when to swim against the current and when to flow with it. He was the one who understood the peace it brought her. Now, he’s the one who can see that she’s terrified.

“She can, ideally, still swim. She just can’t do it competitively anymore.”

“Why?” she croaks pitifully.

“Your right ventricle is weak. To compensate for it, your heart is building up fatty deposits in your heart. It’s making it hard for your heart to function,” the doctor says, looking remorseful. “I’m very sorry but you have to limit your physical activities from now on.”

“If I do continue, what would happen to me?”

The doctor looks to her parents, wordlessly asking if it was okay to tell her. That in itself indicates just how bad it must actually be. She looks at parents pleadingly and after a while, they concede and nod.

“Nayeon, you could die. We will do everything we can to prevent that. I will be prescribing your medicine and you will have to be responsible and take them as recommended,” he looks imploringly at her. “You will also have to quit the competitions because it increases the risk of your heart giving up.”

“So I could die at any moment?”

He hesitates.

“Yes, but we will be doing everything we can to prevent that,” he says, trying to sound reassuring. “We caught it early. That already decreases the risk.”

She swallows at that. She can still swim. She just can’t swim as much as she wants to anymore. That wouldn’t be so bad if she hasn’t dedicated her life to being the best for years already. It wouldn’t be so bad if she knew what else she could be in this world without that one skill, that one talent that made her…herself.

“Do you have somewhere with fresh air here?” She really doesn’t want to cry in front of her parents.

The three adults in the room must feel her need for space because they don’t stop her when she gets up, and takes the change of clothes set up on a table near her bed and heads to the bathroom. She splashes her face with water in the sink and that simple action helps her calm down somewhat.

After she’s changed into a hoodie and some sweatpants, they tell her that there’s a garden at the back of the hospital that serves as a resting place for the recovering patients in their facility.

She walks out of the room calmly and tries to find her way along all the depressingly white walls that she’s grown sick of after days in this place getting poked and prodded and stuck into machines.

Finally, she arrives at a glass door that leads to the garden if the view of some trees and plants around are any indication. She opened the door and saw that there was a bench she could settle down in.

She doesn’t head there. She goes to a tree and settles down under the shade. She would probably get grass stains in her sweatpants but what’s a little mess compared to finding out your heart could give up on you at any minute? It’s nothing.

She looks up at the sky and wonders how she looks like to outsiders at this very moment. Would they look at her and think that her world was falling apart? That she’s had everything she’s worked for just taken away after this? Hell, she has a competition the day after tomorrow, still.

She’s so distracted by the clouds that she doesn’t see the girl approaching until she’s literally blocking her sight.

Did she die while watching the clouds? Was angel already sent to pick her up?

She hears a tinkling laugh come from the girl and realizes abruptly that she might have said that out loud. She flushes a bit and looks at the girl.

“You look like you could use some company,” the girl says to her. “I’m Jihyo.”

“Nayeon,” she replies, moving over a bit to make room for the girl. She notices that the girl is only wearing a dress so she takes off the hoodie and lays it on the ground.

Again, dirty clothes were nothing when faced with impending oblivion.

“Nice shirt,” Jihyo giggles.

She looks down at her shirt and sees that it’s the one matching shirt she has with Mina and Sana, filled with ridiculous drawings and paint splatters. It makes her smile fondly.

“We can just sit here and wait for the world to right itself,” Jihyo says so casually that Nayeon is taken aback.

“What do you mean?” she questions the girl.

Instead of replying, Jihyo just smiles at her serenely.

Maybe it’s the chill air or maybe it was the sound of life around her continuing on as if nothing’s changed. She muses that nothing _has_ changed. At least not in the larger scheme of the world. It hasn’t and it won’t stop turning just for her. She feels something wet fall onto her hand and it’s just then that she lets it all go.

She cries and sobs and it’s not pretty. It’s probably uncomfortable and annoying but Jihyo just stays there beside her. She feels the girl reach for her hand and she grasps it, hoping that it’ll anchor her among all the emotions escaping her walls.

She doesn’t know how long it took for her to calm down but Jihyo never let go of her. In fact, the girl was humming something that sounded divine.

“God, I’m so sorry for that,” she rasps.

“Sorry for what?” Jihyo asks, looking honestly perplexed at the apology.

“For a stranger crying on you randomly or something,” she mutters.

“For what it’s worth, you’re not a total stranger,” Jihyo smiles softly at her. “We go to the same school, you know? I see you sometimes.”

“That’s even worse,” she groans and hides her face with her one unoccupied hand.

“It’s okay to feel things. You know that, right?”

“I know,” she mumbles.

And for a while they just sit there again. She feels refreshed.

“What would you do if your life suddenly changed and you couldn’t pursue your dream anymore?” she asks.

“I would grieve. Then I’d find another reason to go on,” the girl says simply.

And maybe it was _that_ simple.

“I have a heart problem,” she states.

Jihyo frowns a bit at that but she sends a small smile to the girl.

“I’m a swimmer with a heart problem so I can’t be a swimmer anymore,” she says, feeling tears springing into her eyes again. “But it isn’t the end of the world.”

“It’s not,” Jihyo confirms, squeezing her hand in reassurance.

She chuckles at that, wiping at her eyes.

“Why are you here anyway?” she asks.

“I was visiting an aunt who was confined lately,” Jihyo explains. “I figured I’d relax here for a bit before going home.”

“Have you eaten lunch yet?” she asks.

“Not yet,” Jihyo smiles at her.

She gets up and pulls Jihyo up with her. Together they go to Nayeon’s room. It’s weird how fast she’s warming up to the girl considering she rarely talks to new people but it felt natural. It felt right.

“Nayeon!” her mom exclaims.

She smiles amusedly at the outburst.

“Mom, I wasn’t even gone for an hour, why are you—”

She gets cut off by her mother hugging her tightly. Jihyo lets go of her hand so she can rub her mom’s back in comfort.

“You were gone for a few hours, sweetie,” her dad informs her, voice tight. “We didn’t know if we should get you or if it’s too soon.”

He sounded so lost and she hated it.

“I’m fine,” she says. “I just needed to…think.”

Her dad sniffs a bit at that and wipes his eyes. She probably worried them a lot.

“Who’s this lovely young lady?” he asks, smiling at the new girl.

“This is Jihyo,” she says, trailing off because she doesn’t even know the girls last name.

“My name’s Park Jihyo, sir,” she smiles. “I go to school with Nayeon.”

Her father smiles cheekily at her. Nayeon has never introduced her friends to her parents, this was a first. She reaches for Jihyo’s hand again and tries not to flush from embarrassment. The girl just laughs at her and takes her hand.

“Can we go get lunch?” she asks them. “And preferably not the food in the cafeteria here?”

“Of course, honey. Your dad will settle everything and but Dr. Kim still needs to talk to you about” her mom trails off looking at Jihyo.

“It’s okay, mom. I told her.”

The door to the room opens and the said doctor arrives.

“Ah, Nayeon. Are you feeling better?” he asks.

“Yes, yes I am,” she answers.

“Well, I’m glad. You’re free to go but I’m going to need your parents to pick up your prescriptions and we’ll see if they work well for you,” he smiles.

“Can I swim on one last competition?” she asks boldly. “It’s on the day after tomorrow and I’m feeling fine. It’s the last one this school year anyway, so after that I’m leaving the swim team.”

He looks torn at this, probably feeling how determined Nayeon is.

“I can’t tell you not to do it, but please take care not to tire yourself out,” he says. “It’s not going to be good for you but I feel like you would do it anyway. It should be fine.”

She finally grins at that. She looks to Jihyo and sees admiration coming from the girl.

“You’re amazing,” she breathes.

“What?” she asks, flustered.

The adults in the room laugh at the duo’s interaction. Deep down, they’re all just glad that Nayeon was feeling better than she was earlier.

After everything is settled, they g to lunch with Jihyo and they part ways, but not without Nayeon mustering up her courage to get the girl’s number.

_Nayeon:_

_Hey, thank you so much for today_

_Jihyo:_

_We’ll still see each other tomorrow_

_If we meet at school, that is_

_Nayeon:_

_Of course we’ll meet at school_

_Although I do wonder why I haven’t seen you around before_

_Jihyo:_

_You were always at the pool :P_

_Nayeon:_

_Haha I guess I was_

_I’ll be having a lot of free time next year tho_

_Jihyo:_

_I’m sorry :(_

_Nayeon:_

_It’s fine_

_It’ll be like a whole new world for me to explore_

_This time in land_

_Jihyo:_

_You know, for a bunny, you are pretty aquatic_

_Nayeon:_

_*gasp* Are you mocking my beautiful teeth?_

_Jihyo:_

_I am merely stating a fact :P_

_Nayeon:_

_It’s pretty late, sorry if I’ve kept you up_

_Goodnight Park Jihyo_

_Jihyo:_

_Sweet dreams, bunny_ _:)_

And just like that, the day was over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we going @ some backstory,, i tried to do some research but i'm not sure if the facts are completely accurate so take the info with a pinch of salt and do your own research if you're interested about it :]


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